The Life and Times of Eddie Trivia Quiz

Answer: Derek Riggs

Eddie says: "Ahh, memories are made of this. I've sure come a long way since being a blood-spurting papier mache head positioned at the rear of the stage behind the drummer. Fortunately Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood recognised the greater potential in me becoming a more significant and integral part of the band's identity, so it was a serendipitous moment when he happened upon some artwork by Derek Riggs.

A meeting with Derek was arranged and a viewing of his portfolio unearthed the image that was being sought.

After a few minor adjustments to fit the heavy metal style, (this particular artwork was intended for a punk band), I was born. But the public would have to wait for my true identity to be revealed. My face was obscured by shadows on the 'Running Free' single cover and was not shown in all its glory until the release of Iron Maiden's eponymous debut album two months later. All good things come to those who wait."

Answer: Margaret Thatcher

Eddie says: "Sure, this cover did cause a bit of a ruckus, particularly amongst Britain's conservative voters, but it didn't come without a little manipulation on our own behalf. Almost everything controversial attracts media attention and when you have a product to sell, any attention is good for business; it's a free promotion really. Rod Smallwood put his brain to good use again and requested that part of Maggie Thatcher's face be blacked out thus giving the impression that the cover artwork had been censored. All those rebellious young metalheads who considered a supposedly taboo product amongst their music collection to be a badge of honour helped 'Sanctuary' to a peak position of twenty-nine on the UK Singles Chart. And don't worry about Mrs. Thatcher.

She got her revenge on the cover of the very next Iron Maiden single, a cover version of the Oz rock legends Skyhooks song 'Women in Uniform'. This one showed me walking down the street minding my own business with a lovely young lassie on each arm.

But who was there in the foreground hiding in waiting round the corner? None other than Maggie with a great big gun. So many women, so little time."

Answer: The Number of the Beast

Eddie says: "Let's clear a few things up before we proceed any further. 'The Puppet Master' was recorded by King Diamond, 'Master of Puppets' by Metallica and 'Master of Reality' belongs to Black Sabbath. Now I can't speak for them in regards to any affiliations they might or might not have with Beelzebub, but I can assure you that the lads in Iron Maiden are about as Satanic as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

But the reaction to 'The Number of the Beast' was a nice "Welcome and how do you do?" for Bruce Dickinson who had replaced Paul DiAnno, Iron Maiden's vocalist from their first two albums. Now if people want to make stockpiles of our recordings and merchandise only to burn them to smithereens, go ahead I say, you already know my view of free promotions via controversy, but add to that the fact that the product has already been paid for we're not losing any money by the actions of a small minority. And guess who had the last laugh? Iron Maiden, that's who.

In a poll conducted by entertainment company HMV to commemorate the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, 'The Number of the Beast' was voted the best British album to be released in the sixty years of the Queen's reign."

Answer: Union Jack flag

Eddie says: "For the most part of their careers the lads eschewed the cliched topics of love, sex, drugs and Rock'n'Roll, taking their songwriting inspiration instead from history, literature, mythology and other worldly subjects. 'The Trooper' was one of those gems penned by Iron Maiden founder, bassist and head honcho Steve Harris.

It was written from the perspective of a British soldier in the final moments of his life before, during and after a push towards the enemy line in the Crimean War and was inspired by Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem 'Charge of the Light Brigade'. Now we're a British band and proud of it, so indulging in a little flag waving is Bruce's way of showing his British pride and patriotism without being jingoistic. Be grateful he didn't opt for the tomahawk I held on the cover of 'Run to the Hills' or the flamethrower from the 'Flight of Icarus' cover."

Answer: Blade Runner

Eddie says: "The lads had been through a real purple patch before the release of this album with 'The Number of the Beast', 'Piece of Mind', 'Powerslave' and 'Live After Death' bringing them great success and popularity throughout the world. But with 'Somewhere in Time' they tried something a little different by experimenting with the use of bass and guitar synthesizers. And though it was not intentional, the recurring themes of travelling, time and exploration prevalent in most of the songs gave the impression of it being a half-baked concept album.

The wrap-around album cover, with a futuristic London streetscape setting, featured a cornucopia of visual and textual references to Iron Maiden's career to that point in time including song titles, album covers, bars and other venues they had performed at, as well as a football score showing Steve's beloved West Ham United easily defeating Arsenal. And if there was ever any doubt as to the inspiration for this cover, one would only have to cast their eyes to the back cover to find a cinema named after Philip K. Dick with the film 'Blade Runner' being advertised out the front."

Answer: Stabbing him with a pitchfork

Eddie says: "Well, it was all in good fun, a bit tongue in cheek and all that. We had earlier tried something similar on the 'Maiden Japan' EP with me holding the decapitated head of departing vocalist Paul DiAnno, but that was deemed to be in poor taste considering Paul was being dismissed rather than leaving and the artwork was changed.

There are some copies of the original version out there though which are highly prized and sought after by collectors. The 'Hallowed be thy Name' cover showed me in my incarnation as the Devil, evident by the horns on my forehead, stabbing Bruce from behind with a giant pitchfork, the middle prong entering through the back and exiting through the belly.

But Bruce recovered from this and returned to the fold in 1999, replacing his replacement Blaze Bayley who fronted the band through a two studio album period between 1994-1999.

But the Bayley era is a time most fans prefer not to remember, let alone talk about, so let's skip it 'ey."

Answer: CD boxset

Eddie says: "Sure, I've never been named as the face of some posh European fashion house, but I've had my head on more t-shirts than even Che Guevara. And if the Royal Mail ever replaced the Queen's image with mine, there'd be no shortage of people buying postage stamps just to lick the back of my head. So 'Eddie's Head' was a clever marketing strategy comprised of sixteen remastered compact discs; nine studio albums, six live discs and a narrated documentary of Iron Maiden's history to that point.

They were all tucked away inside a moulded plastic model of my head, complete with the small plate in the middle of my forehead that I received after my lobotomy for the 'Piece of Mind' album cover in 1983. Obviously a collection as large and lavish as this didn't come cheaply, but those with any spare cash after purchasing 'Eddie's Head' could have bought some batteries to stick in it for the added bonus of seeing my eyes light up."

Answer: It was an unfinished draft

Eddie says: "You're right, it was terrible. One can only imagine how good it might have looked if we'd only waited for the finished product. Fortunately for me though I was barely recognisable draped in a Grim Reaper gown and scythe in my hand, but not quite unrecognisable.

After all these years I still can't make heads nor tails out of those weird, misshapen figures around me that look little more than underdressed store mannequins. It's no wonder that David Patchett requested that his name not be printed in the album's credit notes; he completely disowned the work.

But as is said, don't judge a book by its cover, you'd be depriving yourself of another fine Iron Maiden album if you did. The thirteenth studio release of their career, 'Dance of Death' saw the lads continuing to break new ground, particularly with the songs 'The Journeyman', their first ever acoustic track, and 'New Frontier' which earned drummer Nicko McBrain a songwriting credit for the first time."

Answer: Ed Force One

Eddie says: "Away from his duties as Iron Maiden frontman, Bruce Dickinson kept himself busy with a wide range of worldly pursuits. One of these was as a pilot for the small charter airline Astraeus, so the idea for Ed Force One, the winning name from a fan base competition, was mostly his. We commissioned a Boeing 757 from Astraeus and set about modifying it specifically for our purpose, including the removal of a number of rows of seats at the rear of the plane which then provided a cargo hold for stage equipment.

After months of modifications, followed by rigorous safety checks, Ed Force One was given the thumbs up to fly by the aviation authorities with Bruce himself as one of three on board pilots. On the 30th of January, 2008, Ed Force One departed from London's Stansted Airport on its maiden flight, (hahaha 'maiden' flight), complete with a 'Powerslave' era me livery design on the tailfin, bound for Mumbai for the first show of this tour."

Answer: No

Eddie says: "Come off it Guv, even I need to take a holiday every once in a while. With fifteen studio albums and well over thirty singles to their credit up to the end of 2010, not to mention live and compilation albums, Iron Maiden have kept me busy. I appeared on the cover of all studio albums in that time in many different guises from zombie to cyborg and even alien for 2010's 'The Final Frontier'.

But all work and no play makes Eddie a dull boy, so I took my first break from duties on the release of a live recording of 'Running Free' in 1985.

A photograph of Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris on stage was used instead. This single was recorded during the 'World Slavery Tour' of 1984-1985 and was used to promote the 'Live After Death' album that came out of these shows. My next break ran for the duration of two singles from the 1992 album 'Fear of the Dark', namely 'From Here to Eternity' and 'Wasting Love.' There had been occasions after this when I didn't appear on covers but it's not so straightforward.

For example, a regular CD single release might well have had me on its cover, but a limited edition vinyl picture disc of the same single might not have. But so long as there is Iron Maiden, there will always be an Eddie. Apart from death and taxes, I'm the only certainty in life."